Public school report cardsLITTLE ROCK — Individual public schools received a letter grade, from A to F, on school report cards issued by the state Education Department. The legislature mandated the letter grades in Act 696 of 2013 to make the school report cards easier for parents to understand. Among other things, the report cards indicate how well individual schools are teaching mathematics and literacy, based on students’ scores on standardized tests. For high schoo...

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State Capitol Week in ReviewThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Regular Session to adjourn WednesdayLITTLE ROCK — The House will reconvene in the chamber on Wednesday for our official Sine Die adjournment for the Regular Session. Sine Die is a Latin term meaning “without day.” We will take up any unfinished business at that time and then adjourn until next year’s Fiscal Session or for any possible Special Sessions that may be called by the Governor. But our work when it comes to healthcare is still in the very beginning stages. Early in the ...

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State House of RepresentativesThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Income transfer, not income taxCampaigning for reelection, President Barack Obama often talked about the importance of everyone paying their “fair share” of taxes. The assumption was that there was general agreement about what fair share means. The underlying message is that those who earn more should pay more than they already are; that what the top 10 percent are paying is just not enough. This week, a Wall Street Journal article titled “Top 20 Percent of Earners Pay 84 P...

Sage advice from Will RogersCONWAY — When it comes to humor, the Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle hit the nail on the head when he said, “Its essence is love; it issues not in laughter, but in still smiles, which lie far deeper.” This thought came to mind when I read a list of famous sayings by the famous cowboy humorist Will Rogers. While he died in a plane crash in 1935, three years before I was born, his legacy has nevertheless made an indelible mark on me. Several ye...

Asa conducts legislative orchestraArkansas’ state government was designed to have a weak governor, and that tradition has continued. The framers of the current 1874 Constitution ensured a veto could be overridden by a simple majority vote, and later amendments, such as the one that transferred the governor’s authority to the lieutenant governor when the governor leaves the state, have continued that tradition. Gov. Asa Hutchinson pretty much took a sledgehammer to all of that ...

'Little Boy:' A classic modern filmThere are classic films, like the ones on TCM and AMC, and there are modern films. There are few modern classics. “Little Boy,” in theaters April 24, could be a modern classic. The film is set in a Southern California town during World War II. A couple’s oldest son, London Busbee (David Henrie), is drafted, but is barred from service because of his flat feet. The father, James Busbee (Michael Rapaport), goes instead and his youngest son, Peppe...

The new inquisitionHow long will this country remain free? Probably only as long as the American people value their freedom enough to defend it. But how many people today can stop looking at their electronic devices long enough to even think about such things? Meanwhile, attempts to shut down people whose free speech interferes with other people’s political agendas go on, with remarkably little notice, much less outrage. The Internal Revenue Service’s targeting ...

Judicial selection study necessaryGov. Asa Hutchinson weighed in last week on the possible need for reforming Arkansas’ system of choosing judges, and the inability or unwillingness of state’s highest court to address the same-sex marriage issue provides Exhibit 2 in the case for change. Exhibit 1 was Circuit Judge Michael Maggio of Conway, whose unethical conduct led to his removal from the bench and may result in a prison sentence. Fortunately, his foolish use of social medi...

Letters showcase split on high courtLITTLE ROCK — Complaints by two members of the Arkansas Supreme Court that other justices are unnecessarily delaying the case over gay marriage is the latest signal that the state is unlikely to resolve the issue before the nation’s highest court does. By bowing out of a newly created case over who can participate in the gay marriage appeal, Chief Justice Jim Hannah and Justice Paul Danielson echoed the complaints of attorneys challenging Arka...

Skills that pay billsLITTLE ROCK — Last week I signed into law three bills that form our workforce-training plan. Afterwards, a Little Rock television station ran a story about a fellow named Lawrence Aaron. A student at Pulaski Tech in North Little Rock, Lawrence is just a few weeks from earning his certificate in welding. Once he does, he’ll be earning twice what he was before. “I couldn’t max out with nothing more than nine or 10 dollars an hour,” Lawrence said...

Special anniversary rememberedLITTLE ROCK — On Tuesday, our state will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the passage of legislation that was once described as putting the stamp of righteousness and the stamp of compassion on the name of America. On April 14, 1865, the Arkansas General Assembly convened for a special session in the Old State House and with a unanimous vote ratified the 13th amendment of the U.S. Constitution which abolished slavery. The Arkansas Civil...

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State House of RepresentativesThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Bills revamp vocational systemLITTLE ROCK — Among the most important economic development legislation approved this year are three new laws that dramatically restructure how Arkansas trains people for the technical job skills they need to work in today’s work place. The governor and the sponsors of the three bills described them as foundational and momentum changing, adding that they will make Arkansas more competitive in recruiting industries that pay well. At the bill si...

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State Capitol Week in ReviewThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Seeds for a decent, moral societyCONWAY — Several years ago I heard the late Earl Nightingale say, “We can’t be much better than we know how to be.” This is so true. This statement also has a direct impact on the kind of society that we are living in today. First, may I pose this question to you: Are you happy with the quality of the decency and morality that you witness in our society today? When you talk about society, that pretty well covers the waterfront, but it becomes ...

A charming visionaryIf you walked through Midtown Atlanta today, you would see a burgeoning, bustling, vibrant community. A place where people live, play and work. For me, it’s not just a matter of interest; it’s a matter of family history. My father-in-law, Jim Cushman, developed the first mixed-use community in Midtown Atlanta, Colony Square. Designed to include offices, shops, residential and entertainment, it began in the late 1960s when there were abandoned ...

Carly Fiorina, a woman of accomplishmentWhen people speak of “the first woman president” they usually mean Hillary Clinton, who is expected to announce her candidacy soon. But there’s another woman, a Republican, who will shortly vie for the top job. She is Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. The polls don’t register much support for Fiorina, but if people listen to what she has to say, particularly about Hillary Clinton, that could change. In an interview, Fiorina told me...

More is not merrier in our citiesNew York and San Francisco are expensive places to live. That’s a big problem for the nation because these cities are centers for the booming knowledge economy. High housing costs discourage this growth. So sayeth The Economist, its trademark voice of reason spiked with charges of greed against those who would resist the god of gross domestic product. The venerable British magazine has a prescription, unfortunately: Make housing cheaper by bui...

The Iran 'agreement' charadeBy abandoning virtually all its demands for serious restrictions on Iran’s nuclear bomb program, the Obama administration has apparently achieved the semblance of a preliminary introduction to the beginning of a tentative framework for a possible hope of an eventual agreement with Iran. But even this hazy “achievement” may vanish like a mirage. It takes two to agree — and Iran has already publicly disputed and even mocked what President Obama ...

Legislator tries to show us the moneyRemember the scene in the movie “Jerry Maguire” where the football player portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. makes the sports agent played by Tom Cruise shout, “Show me the money!”? The part of Gooding was played this legislative session by Rep. Jana Della Rosa, R-Rogers. The part of Tom Cruise was played by a Legislature that, unfortunately, decided to keep silent. In Arkansas, candidates can file their reports online or on paper. The reports can ...

Battle over ‘religious freedom’ law may be just beginningDon’t bet that the battle over “the free exercise of religion” is over despite the April Fool’s Day passage of compromise legislation that satisfied Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s objection to a much stronger bill. Or should I say a bill that was more to the liking of the governor’s son Seth? After all, the senior Hutchinson had ignored opposition from such powerful corporations as Wal-Mart, Apple and Axciom, using his influence to pull the highly disc...

Religion bill previews rifts governor facesLITTLE ROCK — The 11th hour chaos surrounding a religious objections measure and widespread criticism that it was anti-gay was the type of fight Gov. Asa Hutchinson had largely avoided over other divisive issues in his first legislative session. A day after he called for changes to a bill that he had promised initially to sign into law, Hutchinson approved a compromise version that would still prohibit state and local government from infringin...